Chicken Legs
by Amarielah
Summary: Ren discovers that Kyoko is Bo, and finally admits his feelings. Naturally, things don't go that well. One-shot.


Summary: Ren discovers that Kyoko is Bo, and finally admits his feelings. Naturally, things don't go that well. One-shot.

A/N: This was originally written for a comment-a-thon on anenko's livejournal, with the prompt: "At least the chicken suit kept her from running away too quickly, or: Ren confesses his love, and Kyoko reacts as well as can be expected." It begins and ends rather abruptly, but I don't think it's incomprehensible as is. At least I hope not.

**Chicken Legs**

As wonderful as fresh air felt against her overheated face, Kyoko just couldn't bring herself to be happy about this particular turn of events.

"Mogami...san." His eyes were very wide. "So...all this time..."

It was then that it surged through her – pure instinct, fight or flight. With every ounce of strength she could muster, she bounded for the exit; and, seeing as she was in a chicken costume, "bounded" really meant "stumbled".

He was in front of her before she had even made it halfway there, easily blocking her from properly making her escape. Even if she'd still been physically capable of reaching her destination, his _eyes _– with some black sorcery, no doubt – seemed to have pinned her in place. She could tell that he was angry, and it was made all the worse by the fact that he _wasn't smiling_.

She considered falling to her knees and begging his forgiveness, her words of apology already resting anxiously on the tip of her tongue. But she was frozen in place, unable to look away from those eyes.

Softly, he said, "I've reached my limit, Mogami-san."

With a hitched intake of breath, she finally managed to unglue her tongue. "Y-yes! I completely understand, Tsuruga-san. I've breached your trust and taken advantage of your kindness, and I'm deeply ashamed of my actions! If you'll just let me go, I'll never bother you again!"

This just seemed to deepen his frown. "No," he said, then took a deep breath, grabbing her shoulders. "Don't you understand that that's the last thing I want?"

Kyoko thought she had misheard. "But haven't I been nothing but a thorn in your side? Always asking for advice, bugging you about eating, selfishly pursuing my revenge, never being fooled by your blinding smile of intense rage – I understand that you're my senior and you have enough integrity to help me, but it's no surprise at all that this deception has pushed you past your limit!"

He looked as if he wanted to shake her. "I really can't do this anymore," he said, as much to himself as to her. Then, looking her squarely in the eyes, he continued, "I want you to listen to me very carefully, Kyoko."

_Kyoko. _The name echoed oddly in her head, like her brain had suddenly become a giant, cavernous crevasse that Ren was yelling into with cupped hands against his mouth. _Kyoko – o – o – o _

"I do not see you as an inferior; I do not like you in the same way I like everyone else; you are more than just a colleague, or even a friend." He stared at her unblinkingly. "Do you understand me so far?"

She nodded hesitantly.

"Good. That's good. Now, I want you to pay very special attention to what I'm about to say next." His grip on her shoulders tightened slightly, though she could barely feel it through the chicken suit. "I love you."

She blinked.

"I love _you_: Mogami Kyoko. I don't love you like a friend, I don't love you like a sister; I love you like a man loves a woman."

She blinked again.

"Do you understand? Do I need to say it again?"

It all happened at once: bewilderment, because there was no way that he could be serious. Fear, because it was possible he that was being serious. (_Her heart beating wildly for the same reason, and not out of fear. But her heart is a dirty traitorous bitch and is cold and shriveled anyways so it can shut the hell up._) And, finally, anger, because he was being a _condescending prick_.

Eventually, the anger won out. "I understand you're upset that I didn't tell you I was Bo, but you don't need to confess to me like I'm some kind of stupid kid!"

His eyes narrowed. "Because you wouldn't purposefully try to misinterpret this confession if I said it to you normally?"

She opened her mouth to protest, only to close it again a second later. Because it suddenly occurred to her that Tsuruga Ren was in love. With _her_.

Her eyes went out of focus as her brain tried to process that little tidbit of information, and it took several long minutes of deliberation before Kyoko could formulate an adequate response. "Have you tried...um..._not _being in love with me?"

His lips thinned in obvious frustration. "That's not even a remote possibility," he said.

A sigh passed through her lips. "You _know _that my heart is frozen and black, Tsuruga-san. There's no way for me to return your feelings, especially considering that it would do neither of us any good." And with that, a new fire spread outward from her belly, overriding the fear and the shock and the emotion-that-was-definitely-not-happiness. With renewed vigor, she grabbed his hands and pulled them off her shoulders, holding them in front of her between her own wing-covered hands. Noticing the change in her demeanor, his eyes lit up with something that might have been hope. "You don't need to worry, Tsuruga-san! I'll do everything in my power to cure you of the disease known as love!"

And the hope promptly died. "Excuse me?"

She continued energetically, "It's a good thing that this happened with me rather than with somebody else, because I would never take advantage of you while you're in such a pathetic state!" Nodding firmly, she squeezed his hands. "I swear to you on my honor as a member of LME and as your junior: I will cure you of this affliction by the end of the week."

"Kyoko–"

"Starting with my name," she said, cutting him off promptly. "I won't respond to anything other than 'Mogami-san' or 'Mogami-kun'. If you call me by my given name, I will ignore you."

He was truly frowning now, the expression doing nothing to diminish the almost ethereal beauty of his face. "You're really not going to listen to a word I have to say, are you."

She nodded again. "Absolutely not, because every word that comes out of your mouth is only going to worsen your condition. Having had it once myself, I know that better than anyone. It's not going to be easy, but I _am _doing this for your own good!" Letting go of his hands, she walked passed him and straight to the entrance. Once there, however, she stopped, turned around, and gave him the best bow she could given the constraints of the chicken suit.

"I'll see you on set tomorrow, and I'll be sure to be as unpleasant as possible."


End file.
